About 55,000 Los Angeles County workers were preparing to get off work Monday night, disrupting public services from health care and social work to libraries and parks.
Leaders of SEIU Local 721 said the two-day strike will begin at 7 p.m. Monday because their county failed to speak out about the representation of a new contract that was fairly negotiated.
“It’s obvious that they think they’re beyond the law. They don’t think we’ll ever go on strike,” David Green, the head of the league, said in a statement. “They think it’s wrong.”
The union said it would be the first time all its members left their jobs.
The strike will last until 7pm on Wednesday and will touch Almost all County department. Although hospitals will remain open, libraries and some medical clinics will be closed. Wildfire debris cleaning may be paused. The Executive Hall’s public service counter can be closed.
The strike was driven by 44 labor law violations allegedly committed by the county, including retaliation and work that union members should do, the union leaders said. The union’s contract expires at the end of March.
The union also expressed indignation at the alleged insulting low-paying offer. The county initially said the pay raise this year could not be afforded due to wildfire costs, massive sexual abuse solutions and losses from federal grants. Los Angeles County CEO Fesia Davenport said the union’s initial salary proposal could have lost a billion dollars.
Davenport said county officials have “moved” zero pay raise offers in recent weeks but are cautious about what they can offer.
“We don’t want to fall into a structural deficit,” Davenport said in an interview Monday. “We want to grab that line.”
Otherwise, the county may have to cut positions on the road, similar to what Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass proposed. Last week, Bass released a budget proposal that included a 1,650 ruling to help close nearly $100 million deficit Partially cheered by the staff Pay increase The city agreed to last year.
Davenport also stressed that she wanted to protect the county’s credit rating. According to the reserve, the county has been rated AAA from the Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings, despite its reserves of approximately $4 billion release From a credit rating agency. Meanwhile, S&P recently lowered the City of Los Angeles rating due to “weak financial situation and emerging structural imbalances.”
The strike was because other unions had begun publicly blaming the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for the offer made at the bargaining table. Trade Union Alliance representing the county’s first responder is open Pray Last week there was a salary, and it was believed that their members’ efforts in the unprecedented January wildfires have not been properly rewarded on the negotiation table.
